Coup Fails In Libya, Paper Says

September 02, 1985|By United Press International.

CAIRO — Units of the Libyan army and air force mutinied after receiving orders to invade Tunisia and tried to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy, but the rebellion was crushed and 43 senior officers were arrested, an Egyptian newspaper has reported.

The state-controlled Al Ahram newspaper said in early Monday editions that Khadafy`s personal guard crushed the rebellion at dawn Saturday and arrested 13 senior air force officers and 30 army officers, who were being questioned before an urgent court-martial.

Though the newspaper`s front page report carried a Tripoli dateline, Middle East experts said it appeared to be a leak by some branch of the Egyptian government, possibly the intelligence service.

The report could not be confirmed immediately.

The newspaper said Col. Mohammed Barghash, commander of the Al-Wabia air force base near the Tunisianian border, led the air force mutiny.

``He refused Khadafy`s orders to send his planes on preliminary reconnaissance missions before attacking Tunisia,`` the newspaper said. ``He attempted instead to send some of his planes to hit Khadafy`s headquarters, but Khadafy`s guards crushed the mutiny and arrested him and 12 of his aides. ``They are being questioned at present prior to standing an urgent trial before a high military court,`` the newspaper said.

The army mutiny was led by Col. Khalifa Khedr, who also had received orders from Khadafy to attack Tunisia, the newspaper said.

It said the Libyan attack would have been spearheaded by 2,000 Tunisian workers. Recruited by Khadafy, the Tunisians would have been dressed in Tunisian army uniforms and would have driven in ``vehicles similar to Tunisian vehicles to enter Tunisia by trickery,`` Al Ahram said.

The report said Khedr instead tried to use his forces to overthrow Khadafy but was arrested.

The reported rebellion coincided with the 16th anniversary of Khadafy`s rise to power in a coup on Sept. 1, 1969.

Relations between Tunisia and Libya have deteriorated in the past month with Libya`s expulsion of more than 27,000 Tunisian workers. Tunisia retaliated by expelling 253 students and 30 diplomats for spying and by closing a Libyan consulate and cultural center.

Tunisia said the expulsions were an attempt by Khadafy to destabilize the pro-Western government of 82-year-old President Habib Bourguiba during a period of falling export revenues and labor unrest.

Libya has said the expulsions were necessary due to falling oil revenues that have forced cancellation of many of its building projects.